"Proof of the Pudding"

I recently wrote about the old saying, “The cat’s out of the bag”, and today, I was thinking about another old saying; “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” and what that actually means.

My Mom used that phrase and said these words,” It’s all about results, not appearance”. Food can look delicious, but if it tastes like manure, the good looks mean nothing.

I used to attend the “Golden Gloves” prelim fights on a regular basis when I lived in Chicago; they were great entertainment and they were cheap entrance, about $1.25 for three hours of boxing, a real bargain. I remember a young fighter who billed himself as “The Magnificent Herd” and he looked magnificent when he entered the ring, white silk trunks, white high-top boxing shoes and laces with tassels, “Ala Ali”. I have to admit that I was impressed by “The Magnificent Herd”; he certainly looked the part of the “master boxer” when he stepped through the ropes.

Mr. Herd’s opponent wasn’t quite as polished when he climbed in to the squared circle; I don’t remember his name, but I do remember what he looked like. The young man was wearing some faded high school gym shorts, and black high top gym shoes; I could even see part of his jock strap showing itself under one leg. He didn’t dance around the ring or do any “showboating” for the crowd.

Making a long story short, the bell rang and the guy in the faded gym shorts dispatched “The Magnificent Herd” through the ropes and into the crowd in under a minute with a series of blows that ended the career of the next “Ali” in short order. Flash and dancing around the ring doesn’t mean much when that bell rings; skill and substance wins every fight, just ask “The Magnificent Herd”!

New York and California both rail against the conservatives about how horrible a “conservative America” would be. There are always charges of racism, and welfare for the rich, and heartless philosophy for the poor being thrown about by these states at every Republican and conservative on an almost daily basis. If we believed all of these charges, we would have to dismiss the fact that the Civil Rights Bill of the 1960s was passed by every Republican in the Congress, even though some Democrats did vote against it. We would have to dismiss the fact that after the Civil War, it was mostly Democrat “Carpetbaggers” that helped maintain the system of segregation that lasted well into the 1960s (apologies to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson).

Today, the most productive states in America are being run by conservative governors, as they have the lowest unemployment rates and are attracting more jobs into their states at record numbers. They also have LOWER TAX rates than any of the Democrat controlled states, and that should tell us all something about economic growth.

Major companies have already left New York and California for more “business friendly” states to open headquarters and factories in those “heartless conservative” states; those poor people will now suffer with ALL THOSE JOBS that are now available to them, while the welfare rolls continue to grow in New York and California. That pudding isn’t quite so delicious in those liberal bastions, is it?

What this all comes down to is this; sunshine and beaches, skyscrapers and Broadway shows don’t necessarily mean success, they just look good in travelogues. Underneath the glitz and the sunshine lies a decaying substrata of poor management and overspending that is eating away at the “Big Apple” and the “Hollywood Hills”.

These two states are by no means the only ones that are falling apart, I myself live in Illinois, a state that has been decimated by years of mismanagement and corruption because of undue influence from the “Chicago” strong-arms and unethical politicians.

In November, we will all be choosing Senators and Representatives for the next Congress; choose wisely, you will be “eating that pudding” for a couple of years, make sure it will “taste good”!